Do you have to do anything about honeydew?
Most gardener are familiar with the sugary excreting produced by some sap - feeding louse lie with as “ honeydew . ” Many might even sleep together about the riveting relationship between honeydew - farm aphid , mealy bug , or scale insects and the ants who protect them in a manner much like shepherds tending their flock .
But what exactly is insect honeydew melon ? Honeydew is the excretion ( waste production ) of many insects in the true hemipteron rules of order Hemiptera , which admit not only aphid and mealybugs but also soft scales , felt / bark shell , psyllid , leafhopper , planthoppers , and whiteflies . These insects bung by imbibing large quantities of plant sap , taking in far more dinero than necessary to gain the more vital nutrient need . In doing so , they centre the plant life sugars and convert them to a variety of different wampum , some of which are highly prized by other insects . It has been read that four metal money of aphid feeding on the same plant each bring forth a singular commixture of complex sugars in its honeydew melon , and in vastly different quantities . The aphids produce the most - worthful sugars and the greatest amount of honeydew melon earn protection from their ant “ shepherd , ” who keep possible predators at embayment .
But ants , which are broadly good in the garden as predators , can be baffling in their efforts to protect honeydew producers . Most predators do not hold up solely on their target , nor do parasitoids survive solely on their legion worm . Rather , instinctive enemy very commonly supplement their diet with nutrients from pollen , seeds , nectar , and yes — honeydew melon ! For example , most of the tiny Chalcid WASP , include the beneficial parasitoids of aphids and legion other garden pests , fly high off that worthful , energy - plenteous honeydew . Some plant germ even live among the colonies of aphids , feeding on both honeydew melon and aphid . Larger good wasps and bee are readily seen gather honeydew melon , and in such enormous quantities that the wild beloved produced in some realm of the earthly concern ( in particular Greece ) consists mostly of honeydew from those prolific short sap - feeders .
How do you know when you have a problem?
Use honeydew to your vantage ! Many worm Colony can be difficult to spot , particularly when they are on the undersides of leave or within the canopy . Sticky , bright honeydew on leaf surfaces finally leave to pitchy cast , a black , powdery fungus that formulate on honeydew . This tells you exactly where to explore for the causal agent : Just look up from the falling honeydew . Once you find the cause , you may identify the insects and judge the situation . Next comes the challenging part . For the benefit of your garden and the larger environment , you must value the honeydew - producing insects and decide what to do . This will likely take gaining an precise recognition if you do not recognise the worm .
Because honeydew melon can dish up a worthful use in the ecosystem of your garden , honeydew - producing insects are not necessarily problematic . If an outbreak occurs , meaning that the population is beyond natural control and industrial plant wellness is deteriorating , then it might be time to address it .
What to do if you think you have a problem
It is difficult to overstate the beneficial role honeydew melon play in defend the kind of worm you want to thrive in your landscape , which also serve handle the honeydew - produce louse . Here are some guideline in dealing with honeydew problems . determine if you need to do anything . Ask inquiry to avail you decide what to do . Is this an trespassing pestilence with few natural enemies ? Is it an important blighter requiring straightaway action ? Will it importantly damage the plant life , or is the industrial plant level-headed and age enough to stomach feeding ? Is treatment more high-priced than the flora ’s value ? Is it a underage pest that will help support natural enemy population ?
essay washing it off . Excessive honeydew can be moisten off with water ( warm water works better ) and a diffused fabric if necessary . Sooty cast will pass aside once the honeydew provision terminate . Horticultural oil can cause sooty mold to dry out and flake off the foliage rather .
Do n’t rush along to spray . If you settle that insecticides are necessary , be aware of two critical risk . First , broad - spectrum , persistent insecticides can be annihilating to lifelike foeman and exacerbate pest infestation in the long streak . Second , small sexually transmitted disease of systemic insecticides may be concentrated in honeydew melon as well , potentially harm the bees , wasps , and other dirt ball even if the honeydew - bring forth insect are not immediately killed . In most case , low - jeopardy horticultural oils or insecticidal soap are sufficient to reduce the pest to a more sane level . Remember that more is not always safe . turn over your plant food use and soil richness . Overfertilizing is rampant in household landscape painting , but environmental pollution is not the only result . Abundant nutrient may look beneficial when you see the flora producing speedy , succulent increment ; however , an overabundance of nutrients , peculiarly nitrogen , also do good insects feast on the plant and may contribute to outbreak conditions as the population of herbivore go up out of counterbalance with natural opposition .
Matthew Borden , DPM , is a industrial plant health consultant specialise in diagnostics and integrated management of landscape plant pest and disease .
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A protection racket.These carpenter ants are protecting tuliptree scale insects in order to harvest the honeydew they secrete. However, they are keeping away other insects that might control such infestations.Photo: Matt Borden
This looks bad.Left untreated and without access by natural enemies, infestations of crape myrtle bark scale (left) and mealybugs (right) have covered these plants in honeydew and sooty mold.Photos: Matt Borden
Easy does it.While potent insecticides will eliminate the pests that produce honeydew, they can also do more harm than good. Try more-benign options like horticultural oil (left) or insecticidal soap (right).Photo: Steve Aitken
